Mattias Ekholm suffered another painful loss with the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, falling 5–2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 5. The defeat gives Florida a 3–2 series lead and a chance to close out the series at home — unless the Oilers make the adjustments Ekholm believes are necessary.
Ekholm logged just 17 minutes of ice time, adding one assist on one of Edmonton’s two goals. It marked his second-lowest time on ice this NHL postseason, just ahead of the 16:23 he played in Game 3. Typically, he’s seen over 20 minutes per game.
After the Oilers allowed five goals on home ice for the second time this series — a performance that echoed their 6–1 blowout loss in Game 3 — Ekholm didn’t hold back in pointing to what must change.
What did Ekholm say about the Oilers’ approach to Game 6?
While giving credit to the Panthers (“they are a good team for a reason”), Ekholm emphasized the importance of starting stronger and playing with more urgency from the puck drop.
“We just gotta make sure we bear down early on in games. It hasn’t happened for us. We need to go down to Florida and win a game,” Ekholm said of what Edmonton must do in Game 6.
Ekholm also wants more pressure
The veteran defenseman added that the Oilers need to do a better job of applying pressure early, admitting it’s been a challenge throughout the series. “Put some pressure on them, and obviously we haven’t been able to do too much of that early on,” he said.
When asked about whether the team is dealing with nerves or a lack of focus while playing in the Stanley Cup Final, Ekholm chose not to speculate, responding twice with: “If I knew, I’d obviously address it…”
